Ferguson is investing $82.8 million for its third Newport News headquarters building, which will be under construction for about two years with the goal of completion by the summer of 2020, Murphy said.

The building will house about 1,600 workers, including in human resources, marketing, e-commerce, information technology and its national sales center, he said.

The building will be constructed by Newport News-based W.M. Jordan Co. along Lakefront Commons between the fountain and a planned public-access parking garage at Lakefront and Canon Boulevard.

The 260,000-square-foot building includes a multilevel glass atrium that will house meeting and collaboration space with a rooftop terrace-style meeting and event space on the sixth floor, said John Wilcox, Ferguson’s senior director of corporate services. Plans also call for a sky-bridge from the parking garage to the rear of the building, he said.

The Newport News Economic Development Authority will own the roughly $25 million planned parking garage with about 1,450 spaces. The garage will be constructed under a publicly bid EDA contract and the final cost of the garage won’t be known until the city receives pricing from contractors, said city spokeswoman Kim Lee.

The EDA approved a parking license agreement with Ferguson at its June 1 board meeting. The city also plans to extend Pearl Way from Town Center Drive between the headquarters and the parking garage.

The city is providing Ferguson about $11.5 million in direct incentives, including land worth about $3 million to match a $2 million state grant from the Commonwealth's Opportunity Fund. The state incentives are estimated to total about $3.8 million, including the $2 million grant and about $1.8 million in job creation and property investment grants, Lee said.

(Rob Ostermaier/Daily Press)

The city incentives include tax breaks over a 10-year period, a $500,000 reimbursement for the sky-bridge connection to the garage, a $500,000 reimbursement for landscaping and plaza amenities and a waiver of $2.7 million in a parking and infrastructure contribution fee.

Ferguson will own about 2.3 acres and has the exclusive option to buy another half-acre parcel at fair market value from the EDA through the end of 2029 with two one-year extensions, Lee said.

The company’s second headquarters campus across from the Marriott symbolizes Ferguson’s commitment to Newport News and its involvement in the community, including philanthropic efforts, Murphy said. Ferguson will expand its City Center campus as it grows, he said.

Architecture firm Clark Nexsen in Virginia Beach worked with Ferguson and W.M. Jordan on a physical environment that supported the company’s values and culture, said Paul R. Battaglia, Clark Nexsen principal. The outdoor design includes green space and outdoor work space that capitalizes on the fountain as an amenity, he said.

The first floor of the building will host a lot of Ferguson’s training space and staffers are looking at bringing a small cafe space on the first level for convenience, Wilcox said. Still, City Center offers workers places to walk around and eat, Murphy said.

Courtesy of Newport News, Fergus / HANDOUT

This is a rendering of what Ferguson's building in City Center will look like. Courtesy of Newport News, Ferguson, Clark Nexsen and W.M. Jordan.- Original Credit: Ferguson and Clark Nexsen- Original Source: Handout

This is a rendering of what Ferguson's building in City Center will look like. Courtesy of Newport News, Ferguson, Clark Nexsen and W.M. Jordan.- Original Credit: Ferguson and Clark Nexsen- Original Source: Handout (Courtesy of Newport News, Fergus / HANDOUT)

The interior will feature an open-concept design to drive collaboration and the length of the building maximizes natural light, Wilcox said. The modern design also better enables Ferguson’s headquarters to support its more than 25,000 employees and initiatives across the country through the use of technology, Murphy said.

The idea is to attract and retain the workforce of the future, Murphy said.

About 200 people attended the groundbreaking ceremony, including former Ferguson CEOs David Peebles and Charlie Banks, who both live in Gloucester. Peebles said the project showed Ferguson’s innovation and Banks said he liked seeing Ferguson’s long-term commitment to grow in Newport News.

Ferguson, which continually has focused on professional development and recruiting people for careers, is poised to attract workers looking for opportunity, Banks said.

Rob Ostermaier / Daily Press

A rendering on Ferguson Enterprises new corporate headquarters is on display at the groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday June 20, 2018.

A rendering on Ferguson Enterprises new corporate headquarters is on display at the groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday June 20, 2018. (Rob Ostermaier / Daily Press)

“I never thought I’d see a building like that here,” Banks said.

After 65 years and growing steadily from its home base on the Peninsula, Ferguson is the nation's largest distributor of residential and commercial plumbing supplies and brings in annual sales of $15 billion.

City Manager Cindy Rohlf said the Ferguson campus will be a catalyst for City Center's transformation as company employees and their families will spend time in the mixed-use development.

“It’ll be great for City Center. It’ll help the retail, it’ll help office — it already has,” said Harvey Lindsay Jr., chairman of Harvey Lindsay Commercial Real Estate , which manages City Center leasing.